Dragon Boys
by Dragons in Books
Summary: After facing dragons, a corridor with a warning that said painful death didn't seem to bad. When your mentors claim that Forbidden Forest really wasn't that bad despite what people say, it really was no surprise they would decide to break in, after all they wouldn't keep anything more dangerous than a dragon in a school, would they?
1. Chapter 1

****The Day Before the Hogwarts' Express Leaves****

 ** **Head of the**** ** **Irish Dragon**** ** **Reserve's Office****

Donovan Maccuin sat in office wondering how he had gotten so attached to the four boys, he was sorry to see them go. The Dragon Boys, that was the nickname the preserve workers had come up with when they were found in the pen being cuddled by a Welsh Green. __Cuddled__ he couldn't get his mind around it. Dragons are not the most nurturing of creatures and yet the boys were being cuddled! Tristan went crazy with worry when he first saw and since none of them were hurt it was decided that it would probably be best if nobody mentioned it to the other boys' parents, especially the fact that four nine-year-olds had made past several workers and wards to be in the pen.

Harry was excited! The next day he would be going to Hogwarts, the school were his parents learned magic and most of the preserve workers had gone as well. He had planned out all the places to explore first with his friends and had even gotten advice from Remus about secret shortcuts to avoid detection in any adventures he and friends might get into, although he was told not to break any rules. Theo said it was okay to break them as long as they didn't get caught so he really wasn't worried.

He __was__ slightly worried about what house he would get into. Tristan said he didn't care, as Beauxbatons didn't sort their students like Hogwarts did and the preserve had a healthy mix of all four houses. Theodore would most likely end up in Slytherin (his family had been Slytherins for several generations), Neville hoped to be in Gryffindor (like his parents), and Seamus didn't really care as long as they could still cause mischief. They all wanted to be placed into the same house, but that wasn't too likely. Augusta might have started to accept Neville was his own person but they didn't think Slytherin was the best place for him, Theo's grandfather had a weak heart so anything other than Ravenclaw and Slytherin was out for him, (they didn't want the old man to die from shock or something) and Seamus wasn't too into learning. Sure, he studied but he didn't actively pursue new information. They all agreed yellow wasn't their colour so Hufflepuff was out of the question.

Gryffindor would be great he supposed, it was the house his parents were in and Neville and Seamus were almost guaranteed to go there. Slytherin was also had a high probability. Theo would probably be there and he might discover more information about parselmouths in the house of the snakes. Hufflepuff might be nice, but you have to earn his loyalty and he only worked hard if he was interested otherwise he would only do enough work to get reasonably good grades. Ravenclaw could be a good fit, he had heard that they had a vast library which would be interesting to explore, learning new things is almost always fun. Wherever he went, Harry decided they would still be friends; there was just something about being cuddled by a dragon that formed lasting bonds between people.

At least he wouldn't have to deal with the fame. Tristan had changed his last name when he adopted him, so now he was Harrison James Potter Thevenet, and he frequently dyed his hair a few shades lighter and covered his scar when he went into wizarding public. He didn't particularly like hiding himself, but it kept people from swarming him and the look had kind of grown on him. At least he wouldn't be reminded of his dead parents every time someone saw him. Yeah, he missed them and wanted them back but he didn't need to be constantly reminded of that; he was told it could cause mental damage. Sure, Tristan was great and told him stories about Lily growing up and after Remus had been tracked down the man shared stories about both of his parents in school, but being told stories by your mother's cousin and father's best friend weren't the same as actually having them.

Neville was worried. Tomorrow he was going to Hogwarts and would be sorted. One of his friends was almost guaranteed to be in Slytherin and nobody was sure where Harry would end up (there was actually a betting pool between the dragon tamers over Slytherin and Gryffindor, it was pretty close to fifty- fifty at this point in time), and Seamus was sure to be a Gryffindor after all it was his fault they ended in that pen with a cuddle happy dragon.

He hoped he would be a Gryffindor, most Longbottoms were. His Gran was always telling him about his parents and how they were in Gryffindor. He was told by various family members that Hufflepuff was for duffers but he would be lucky to end up there. He thought that he was a squib for many years, the letter was a surprise even though the reserve workers told him it was unlikely he was a squib. He figured he was lucky his Gran got him a new wand, for a while it sounded like she would make him use his dad's wand.

Double checking that everything was set, his new wand freshly polished and everything neatly packed in his trunk, he went down to the dinner his grandmother was hosting as a send-off. Dodging around several older men and women who were friends with Augusta and were invited to celebrate that he wasn't a squib, he grabbed some food and headed out to a greenhouse.

Theodore was slightly worried. When his parents first found out he was friends with Harry Potter they were upset, but then they decided it would be a good idea as the Potters had had a large amount of influence in the past and many of their alliances just needed to be dusted off to get them back to full strength, even if Harry now went by Harry Thevenet. It was decided that Theo could be his mentor in politics. After all, a Frenchmen could hardly understand the intricacies of pureblood politics and if Theo was the mentor of the Potter heir then he could bring more power to the Notts. His parents were not true blood supremacists; they were close to the Malfoys, but mostly it was so they could keep power. As a whole they had nothing against muggleborns or even muggles. A few cousins from a distant branch joined the Death Eaters but they did not represent the views of the family despite what Voldemort might have thought.

He wasn't worried about what house he would get into. Ravenclaw and Slytherin were acceptable to his family and the other two weren't even possibilities. He was worried about his friends though; Seamus was oblivious to most of the subtle maneuverings involved in politics, Neville would probably get eaten alive, the poor boy needs grow a spine, and Harry? Well the reserve had a betting pool whether he would be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. He was the mastermind behind their pranks and usually managed to frame someone else for it as well. Theo knew that most of his pureblood "friends" wouldn't approve of him being friends with Gryffindors, because Seamus and Neville were guaranteed to end up there. Blaise wouldn't mind (would actually think it to be great fun), but Draco would be livid, especially if Harry ended up there and he still talked to them. It would be fun to needle the blond boy though, show him what it means to be a true Slytherin.

He made sure to have his trip planned out. He would have to spend some time cultivating alliances as heir to the House of Nott, but afterwards he would meet with the others and hopefully enjoy the rest of the ride. He did vow to punch Seamus if he even thought about annoying Draco on the trip though. The last time they followed one of his plans they got cuddled by a dragon.

Seamus wasn't too worried about the next day. Sure, it would be great if they all ended up together but he knew it wasn't likely to happen. No matter what happened though they would still be friends. Gryffindor was pretty much a sure bet which was fine with him, rumor had it that founder was the reason why the motto was "Never tickle a sleeping dragon." He would have to mention pranking Draco on the train. Interesting things happen when dragons are involved with his plans. When Neville and Theo dislike someone it is better to avoid them.

Dumbledore was pacing his office. Tomorrow was the start of term and Harry Potter was supposed to be coming to Hogwarts, but he hadn't sent an acceptance letter. The other schools said they didn't have him registered either. He didn't understand. None of his tracking spells worked and the Dursleys couldn't give him any information about the mysterious man who had taken Harry, but his instruments showed that the boy was healthy. He didn't know how he was going to explain this to the wizarding public, he had promised that Harry would go to Hogwarts and now it wasn't guaranteed that would happen. Harry Potter was no longer listed in the registry.

Platform 9 3/4 was filled with families sending off their children to Hogwarts, they were shocked at how many people were there. Seamus and Harry moved out the way of the entrance to allow the adults through, Seamus' mother and Tristan had accompanied them.

"Now boys try not to blow anything up. I expect weekly updates from each of you and Theodore promised to keep me informed so I will know if you leave anything out." Seamus' mother gave them a stern glare that didn't ease until she heard the chorus of 'yes mother' from the boys. "Neville should be arriving soon and Theo should find you later."

"Stay out of trouble boys, and avoid getting into fights and anyone too interested Harry. Remember, it is okay to make new friends outside of your group and…" He looked around, "Oh look Neville has arrived." Tristan took off, Harry and Seamus just shared a look and followed; his attention span was ridiculously small.

Harry, Neville, and Seamus had settled in a compartment and were just starting a game of Exploding Snap when the door opened to reveal a set of red headed twins.

"Have any,"

"Of you,"

"Seen a boy,"

"Named Lee Jordan?"

After a moment to process what had been said, they all shook their heads no.

"A shame George old boy, I heard he had a tarantula."

"I do believe he is hiding from us, even after promising to meet with us."

"We shall have to prank him."

That got Seamus' interest and he couldn't help but ask for advice on the best ways to prank. This of course started an hour long planning session with the twins, who at the end decided the Dragon Boys could be their protegés with a promise of a prank war after break as a 'test' of what they had learned. Just after the Weasley twins had left the door opened to show a pale blond boy and two what they assumed to be boys. They might have been shaved gorillas in robes.

"They say that Harry Potter is on the train, do any of you happen to know where he might be?"

"Shove off Malfoy, what makes you think we would tell you anything if we even knew where he was?"

"Ah, the Longbottom squib. Did they let you in out of pity or did your family have to pay to allow you to come?"

"Now don't you think that is going too far? You did after all come into our compartment, asking questions without introducing yourself or even asking our names."

"What's it to you?"

"I happened to have been raised to have manners, for what it's worth. My name is Harrison Thevenet, this is Seamus Finnegan, you seem to already know Neville Longbottom. You would be?" responded Harry in a superior tone, holding his hand out to the blond boy.

He looked shocked for a moment before brushing it off and taking the before saying, "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

"Excellent. Now, to answer your question, we don't know where Harry Potter is."

Malfoy nodded in acknowledgement and then turned and left. Going back to the game of Snap that had been started when the twins first stopped by, they groaned when the door opened barely five minutes later.

"Well if that's how you feel about me I guess I will just leave."

"No, it's just people keep coming in and it's getting to be a bit much. First it was the Weasley twins and then Malfoy. It's great to see you though." Seamus spoke very quickly filling Theo in on what had happened, "Oh by the way, after break we are having a prank war with the Weasley twins."

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

**The Black Lake, Hogwarts - the night of the Sorting Feast**

Boats. They put eleven-year-olds in boats and sent them across a lake with only one adult as supervision. That was the dumbest idea Harry had ever heard. Even with supervision they could get into trouble, just look at the time everyone thought they had kidnapped Theo. Although, that might have been because the heir to the House of Nott had disappeared on a dragon reserve more than they actually thought he had been kidnapped. The first sight of the castle was impressive though, definitely better than it would have been from the carriages.

The stern looking women waiting for them was also impressive and Harry had high hopes for Transfiguration if she was as stern as she appeared. He didn't know how fair she would be, she did seem a bit too hopeful to see the students in Gryffindor, but otherwise alright. Neville looked terrified, McGonagall probably reminded him of his Gran, they were both stern, old ladies.

While the soon to be sorted first years were gathered, the Dragon Boys discussed their thoughts about the sorting.

"It's going to be something really simple, like asking what house you want to be in."

"There's no way it would be that easy Seamus, if it was they would have to give Veritaserum too. That's the only way to explain why people's parents get so uptight over it."

"I must disagree with you Harry. Veritaserum is illegal unless an investigation is happening and even though the Ministry stays out of Hogwarts' business, there is no way they would let that happen."

"I have to agree with Theo, there is no way the parents would allow the school to hold so much power of the students. I think it might be like getting a wand, you wave and depending on what happens you get placed into a house." Neville didn't usually give his opinion, preferring to be the voice of reason, but when he did they all listened. Then they heard a loud voice say,

"I bet we have to wrestle a troll. The twins always go on about they had the nastiest brute of the whole bunch."

The Dragon Boys just rolled their eyes at that. Obviously that red-head wasn't the brightest if he believed they would put eleven-year-olds against a troll. None of the adults would tell them, saying it was tradition. Remus did say that if they were that bothered they could ask a ghost. Their best bet was the Fat Friar, he was always willing to help a student.

"Hey guys, which one do you think is the Hufflepuff ghost?"

"Why would you what to know Longbottom? Hoping he'll put in a good word for you?"

"One would think you would remember the discussion we had about manners, it was only a few hours ago." Harry shared a look with the others, Draco would be their first target and they would get him within the week. The twins will be so proud.

Before the blond could respond the doors to the Great Hall opened and the first-years were left speechless. All except one brunette who started going on about enchantments and _Hogwarts, A History_. That one should be a Ravenclaw.

Suddenly the old, ragged hat sitting on a stool started to sing,

" _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me…"_

Harry couldn't believe it. All that hype over a hat that sings. This was ridiculous, sure it's been sorting students for a thousand years, but a singing hat. He looked at the others and saw that they were amused; well Seamus just looked appalled and Neville was looking a bit relieved.

When the hat had finished and the applause had died down, McGonagall wasted no time starting. Harry didn't really care where his fellow students ended up just waited for his name to be called. He knew that Theo would pay attention to who ended up where, and whether they would be useful for pranks or studying. Pureblood politics had their uses and if the Dragon Boys were to change the world then they needed people in other houses. He cheered when both Seamus and Neville went to Gryffindor, it was to be expected of course. When Theo went to Slytherin he just nodded at the other boy, there was no surprise there. The sorting went on until

"Harrison Thevenet."

He took his place on the stool and waited for the hat to say something. The voice whispering in his mind was

"Hm, you are interesting. You have plans to achieve your goals no matter where you end up, very Slytherin and you have the same gift as the founder interesting. You would do anything for friends and family but only because they have your absolute trust, so Hufflepuff is out. Learning useful information interests you and you are quite intelligent, but you don't particularly care about subjects that don't interest you, Ravenclaw would be good but maybe not the best. Quite brave, facing a dragon because a friend dared you to, but not noble you will use trickery if it suits you, Gryffindor wouldn't be gone within the week if I placed three of you together. Yes, the house of the snakes would be best for you, and wouldn't people be surprised to see their savior as a…"

"Slytherin!"

The Slytherin table didn't look to pleased to have someone who wasn't a pureblood or known halfblood at their table, but Theo looked smug and nodded to him. He made his way over and sat down, ignoring the rest of the sorting until a dark, Italian boy sat down across from him.

"You must be quite the interesting person for Theodore to have been so invested in where you ended up." He held out his hand and said, "I'm Blaise, Blaise Zabini, and it's a pleasure to finally meet the boy behind so many of Theodore's stories."

"Harrison, and whatever you heard, it was probably worse."

"Well then, I look forward to hearing the actual stories."

Dumbledore stood up to make his announcements, staffing changes and forbidden items. Theo would let him know if something truly important was said.

"Harry, we are going to have to meet about this third floor corridor. We should meet with the others just after breakfast tomorrow."

"Others, Nott. Isn't it bad enough that you associate with foreign mudbloods, must you also associate with the other houses as well?"

"Some people just don't learn, do they?" muttered Harry. "Is that really the best you have? The only way you can insult muggleborns is by using such as a crass word? My father would be disappointed if that the best I could come up with, but then again being French we do have more subtle insults than Brits."

"How dare you, when my father hears of this…"

"He would most likely be disappointed that you couldn't deal with it on your own. Even if he wasn't, the Thevenets are a powerful family, with many allies in France, and currently building an alliance with the Nott's. I would watch what you say Draco." Theo always did have a head for politics and this discussion started the power plays for who would be the leader of their year. It might not seem like the others were paying attention to what was being said, but they were and any Slytherin with a hint of ambition was awaiting the outcome. "Although, you never do think before you speak. A Gryffindor quality I believe. Perhaps you should ask for a re-sort?"

Draco looked livid. Red really wasn't his color. Harry found this is hilarious and couldn't resist taking a stab as well.

"He might actually be thinking right now, he does seem pained enough for it. Either that or he is uncouth enough to show his emotions on his face." Having gotten the last word, Harry moved on. "Now I do believe that prefect would like to take us to the common room." Indeed a prefect was standing nearby and the other students were already leaving. "I believe that we should follow them."

The Gryffindor common room was nice and Neville was relieved that he wasn't the only one of the Dragon Boys there. Seamus was excited because they were in the same house as the Weasley twins. The red and gold was a bit much on the eyes, but the arrangement seemed homely and the dorms were quite nice.

The other Gryffindor boys didn't seem to bad. Dean Thomas seemed decent, if a bit obsessed with the muggle game, football (Neville didn't think to much of it, having seen it when Tristan took them on trip to the Muggle world). Ron Weasley was a bit loud, but Neville really just hoped that he wasn't like his older brothers, the twins. Seamus was Seamus, probably would have a crazy plan ready for action tomorrow morning. The girls were decent. Hermione Granger was a bit too eager to share her knowledge, that would get old very fast and a bit naive about social situations. Lavender Brown would most likely end up being the year's gossip queen, it would be important to stay on her good side. Parvati Patil was interesting. Her twin sister ended up in Ravenclaw and for that they ended up in different houses, they seemed close, he would have to watch her. Theo would be interested to know this information, he was a Slytherin to the core.

Dumbledore was worried. He had allowed himself to hope that Harry Potter would show up, even without accepting his letter. He had foolishly thought that the Thevenet boy was him for a moment; he had brilliant green eyes, Lily's eyes. He didn't know what to do. The Minister was pushing harder than ever for him to produce Harry Potter, and he had promised the boy would be at Hogwarts this year. The wizarding public demanded to see their saviour and Harry Potter was nowhere to be found.

He needed a plan, and fast. The Dursley's would be no help, and Arabella couldn't find him using Muggle means, it was worrisome. It was finally time to contact Remus about Harry.

Severus watched the first years from the shadows. The power plays had started before dinner, showing that this would be an interesting year. He had had an idea of who would ally with whom and was glad to see that he was right. Draco had his two gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle, as well as Parkinson. Greengrass was keeping to herself, as expected of the heir of a neutral house. Davis was waiting to see who came out on top before giving her support, not surprising as as halfblood she was starting out lower in the others' eyes. He was surprised to see that Nott was not with Malfoy, but in his own group with Thevenet and Zabini. Thevenet was interesting, obviously he wasn't the heir to the family, not if he was at Hogwarts, but he still had a grasp of politics, and to so quickly build such an alliance with the House of Nott was surprising. His eyes were the truly interesting part of him though, they looked just like Lily's. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the Potter brat, though it makes it hard to pay a debt if the person wasn't around to protect.

He stepped out to start his usual beginning of the year speech. He made sure that the little snakes knew everyone would be against them, for the simple fact that they were Slytherins. House unity was important when everyone was out to get you. The most important rule of all, don't get caught. They didn't need to give a reason to have more points taken.

Harry was excited. The most important rule of Slytherin was "Don't get caught." This was his life's motto and with Theo it would be almost impossible for any of the Dragon Boys to get caught. They would have to find a good meeting place though, since Gryffindor was notorious for its intolerance of Slytherins and Seamus was a halfblood, so while the Slytherins might make an exception for Neville as a pureblood heir they would be no hope for Seamus. This third floor corridor that held a painful death sounded interesting, nobody had mentioned the school having deadly corridors. He would have to send a letter in morning, the tamers would be eagerly awaiting the results of his sorting.

 **A.N.**

 **Lily's grandfather, Harry's great-grandfather was a squib from the Thevenet family, who was placed in the muggle world as a young toddler and unaware of magic. Lily's mother moved to England, after growing up in France, got married and had Petunia and Lily, unaware of magic until Lily was accepted into Hogwarts. The Thevenet family never had the opportunity to accept Lily into the family, as she never told anyone outside of her immediate family she was a witch and died at a young age. Lily's uncle, Tristan's father, stayed in France and had Tristan, unaware of magic until Tristan went to Beauxbatons. The magical branch of the Thevenet family accepted him back. Due to believing the English branch had no magic, Tristan never told Lily he was a wizard, despite seeing her at family functions in the muggle world. When Tristan adopted Harry, the main family accepted him, officially making Harry a Thevenet. They have a great deal of power in France, but as Harry isn't from the main branch, he isn't the heir. The green eyes that Lily had were markers for magic in the Thevenet family, meaning that Tristan also has them (for future reference). The Thevenet family isn't really important other than to explain how both Lily and her cousin had magic, at the moment. It will be important later on with the Triwizard tournament.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Mess Hall- Irish Dragon Reserve**

Tristan couldn't believe it. The mess hall was chaos. Dragon Tamers were everywhere waiting to hear the news about the Sorting. He managed to get breakfast without having the letter ripped from his hands, but decided that it might be too risky to eat before announcing the results.

"Quiet, everyone! I don't want to read this more than once."

 _Hello to Tristan and the Dragon Tamers,_

 _A hat, really guys? You left us in suspense over a singing hat. I will have revenge for that. You'll be pleased to know that the Sorting went well and it unlikely that anyone will be disowned because of it. Neville has done his family proud and been sorted into Gryffindor. Seamus has also lived up to his reputation and was sorted into Gryffindor. Theo has of course been sorted into Slytherin, I apologize to those of you who thought he could be a Ravenclaw his sorting was ridiculously short. I have upset the hierarchy of my House by pointing out the flaws of a blond ponce, I believe many of my housemates found this amusing. We have found mentors in a set of red-headed twins who claim to be prank masters, they plan on a prank war after the holidays so please start brainstorming ideas now. A third floor corridor has been placed off limits with promises of painful death if the rule is broken. Nobody mentioned anything like this, have you been holding out on us? Theo has enjoyed telling everyone that he has a French friend, excuse me - ally, and showing me off, even though it has only been one night. The Slytherins have been very nosey about my family. My housemates of course inquire very discreetly, or in the case of one blond ponce not so discreetly. Theo's other 'ally' Blaise Zabini seems like an interesting guy. have no fear Tristan we are making friends outside of the group. Neville and Seamus have met this boy, Dean Thomas, who seems to like football a lot. I'm not sure if he will be okay around Slytherins but he is a muggleborn so most likely won't have preconceived notions about us. Oh I believe I didn't mention this before, but I have been sorted into Slytherin._

 _Best of wishes,_

 _Harry, Dragon Boy Extraordinaire._

The mess hall erupted in an explosion of noise. Money was exchanging hands quickly and some people left to go hunt down those who hadn't made it to breakfast to get their money. Tristan left to go send a letter to Remus asking about the corridor. Nowhere was it mention that there was any possibility of death, other than the Forbidden Forest.

Remus was happy for Harry, truly he was. He wasn't too upset that he had been sorted into Slytherin. Lily after all had been best friends with a Slytherin and James probably would have thought it to be an excellent way to play pranks, once he got over his shock of course. Really Harry was in the best place he could be. Theo was there to support him and he could probably at least find allies, if not friends, who would help him if Dumbledore ever found out who he was. The Slytherins weren't particularly fond of the man, even the more politically light and neutral families.

Speaking of Dumbledore, he would have to figure out what to do. He had received a letter stating that Harry Potter hadn't come to Hogwarts and Dumbledore would like his help finding him. Should he act upset if he was told about the Dursleys or pretend to be understanding? The question of actually telling Dumbledore the truth never came up. Remus had seen the medical reports from when Harry was rescued, for that was what it was, a rescue. He would never forgive Dumbledore for doing that to Harry. The boy had been living in a cupboard and had honestly thought his name was 'Freak'. Not to mention the bruises, sure they couldn't prove that they came from the adults as Dudley had often beat him, but it was still not at all healthy for such a young child. He did not regret the past six years of knowing Harry, only that he hadn't taken Harry himself.

Classes had been an interesting mix of interesting and helpful to downright boring and useless. History of Magic was taught by a ghost and while one would have thought that it would provide more interesting tidbits, it would require staying awake long enough to hear them. Transfiguration was not the class to fool around in, which was okay as it ranked in the former category. Herbology was Neville's forte and the Dragon Boys just let Neville take the lead for that class. Defense Against the Dark Arts was ranked as a useful class that would have to be self study as the poor professor couldn't be understood through his stutter. the class also gave Harry a headache every time he was there but that was put down to the garlic. Astronomy was certainly interesting, but none of them saw any use it. Potions was the most interesting class by far. The possibilities with brewing were practically endless and as long as they didn't cause trouble Snape would ignore them. He did target the Gryffindors but by splitting up so there was one from both Houses they avoided anything too drastic. Ron Weasley, who was a loud Gryffindor and not at all like the twins, managed to melt his cauldron spectacularly. But by far the most interesting part of the week was the meeting with the twins.

They had just walked out of the Great Hall when the twins had pulled them aside.

"Look at them Forge."

"They are so cute and innocent as first years."

"We shall make sure they are worthy replacements for us Forge."

"Of course we would only take the best for our students Gred."

"We even have ourselves two snakes to play with."

"Come with us ickle-first-years."

"We must take you on a tour of the castle."

"Complete with,"

"Secret tunnels,"

"To avoid capture,"

"And of course allow easier,"

"Access to your targets."

As they walked around the castle, the Dragon Boys regaled the twins with tales of their pranks. Of course they didn't involve to much magic, unless an adult was recruited, but that just made it better as many wizards didn't know how to deal with Muggle pranks. The twins listened with interest to the stories, food coloring was an unknown in the wizarding world so the ability to dye people's teeth and not have it come off with a simple _finite_ was amazing to them. Of course the Dragon Boys didn't have much experience with pranks that caused explosions as those could be dangerous on a reserve

"Methinks Gred that we have found worthy apprentices."

"Yes, they could do all that without magic. Imagine what they could do with it, and our expert guidance of course."

"Of course we know many tricks of the trade and they haven't caused any explosions yet."

"I now have some ideas to send to Charlie"

"With the way he writes about Romania, Gred he needs something to lighten the atmosphere they seem too serious there."

"Wait." Harry couldn't help to join their conversation. "You know someone who works at the Romanian Dragon Reserve?"

"Our older,"

"Brother Charlie,"

"Works as a tamer,"

"In Romania."

"That's so cool! Tristan and the other tamers sometimes get to go there, but I can't because they have some of the more dangerous species there."

"Please excuse Harry. His cousin is a tamer at the Irish Reserve and he spends all his free time there." The group stopped in front a painting of a bowl of fruit. "Is there a reason we have stopped? Are you bringing us here to forever hold us captive?"

"Stop being such a drama queen Theo. This is probably something cool like the entrance to their secret lair."

"Oh. nothing so fine as that good sirs."

"Though the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room,"

"Is just down the hall."

"This is the entrance to the kitchens."

"Just tickle the pear and…"

"Viola, a handle appears."

A crowd of house elves greeted them as they walked into the kitchens. It was impossible to resist the food being shoved into their hands and really the short beings were excited to provide anything for the 'young masters.' Apparently this was the secret to the Gryffindor parties that were legendary throughout the school.

"So do you two know what's going on with the Third Floor Corridor? Is it normal for a painful death to be the punishment for trespassing?"

"Very subtle Seamus, but I do agree with the sentiment."

"Other than the Forest."

"Or Snape's office,"

"No,"

"It's not."

"Well that just makes it more interesting then." The others just stared at Seamus horrified. "What? Obviously something important or dangerous is there or otherwise they wouldn't place something that could cause painful death there."

"As much as I would like to know what is there, we don't know enough spells to do anything, despite our luck with incredibly dangerous situations." Neville paused before continuing, "Unless Gred and Forge would like to help us?"

"You mean encourage the younger years to break rules?"

"What do you takes us for?"

"Of course we'll help!"

"I'm pretty sure the dragon was not a fluke."

"Seamus it was definitely luck that saved us that day, there is no other way to explain it."

"Well if you want to be a downer about the whole experience Theo go right ahead, but honestly, who else can claim that they were cuddled by a dragon and survived?"

"What the four of you,"

"Were cuddled by,"

"A DRAGON?" Fred, or was it George, looked shocked while the other twin George looked appalled. Then turned to look at each other, "and we thought we did crazy things."

"It was all Seamus' fault really."

"Way to back me up Harry."

"It's how we got the name Dragon Boys on the reserves. I've met tamers from other reserves who always ask what it was like and if we tried it with other dragons. Donovan won't let us anywhere near the pens."

"Harry, Donovan didn't allow us near the pens before that happened."

"That's only because your baby-sitter for the day thought we had kidnapped." This intrigued the twins even more. "Before that we were allowed free reign."

"Only because they didn't know we could get into all those places."

"Really you tell us more about these adventures of yours."

"Mayhaps when we meet again next week to improve on your pranking knowledge and tackle the Third Floor Corridor?"

Satisfied that the mysterious surrounding the steadfast group of friends would be answered, the twins left. Alone to themselves for the first time in almost a week, the Dragon Boys put their time to good use exploring the new found secret passageways.

Albus Dumbledore had run out of options. Nothing he tried would work, any leads that could be followed in the muggle world had gone cold, and the Ministry didn't have any records of someone adopting Harry Potter. Gringotts wasn't giving out any information, but that was to be expected. The goblins didn't not get along with those who lost them money, and he had lost the heir to a small fortune. The Potters were not the richest family out there, but they definitely were among the more wealthy families and all the money accumulating interest was not good for business.

The man could blend into the muggle world decently and he had read somewhere that werewolves could always find those that they consider pack. It was almost time to meet with werewolf might have better luck, considering his unique traits. He knew Remus wasn't involved in the kidnapping of Harry Potter, as he didn't match the magical signature found at Privet Drive. The man was also completely loyal to him, so if someone had approached Remus about Harry he would have told him. Dumbledore just hoped that this approach would work out.

He didn't know what he would do if the boy couldn't be found. He was the Chosen One and the other option, the Longbottom boy, would only be used if worst came to worst. Harry Potter had to be found, the fate of the wizarding world depended on it.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Third Floor Corridor**

The Corridor was not what any of them expected. They never would have known there was something dangerous if it wasn't for the warning Dumbledore gave at the start of term. There were no signs or wards. This gave the group of pranksters some concern, even the Forbidden Forest had Hagrid patrolling the borders.

"Does this not seem too easy to anyone else? I mean, shouldn't there be at least a sign warning students away?"  
"I must agree with Neville, this is far too suspicious."

"Lighten up guys!" Theo just shook his head, anytime Seamus said that bad things happened; like that time with the dragon or when they got caught sneaking into the more dangerous greenhouses at the Longbottom estate. "It'll be fun, it's not like they would keep a dragon in here and we can handle those."

"Well actually,"

"Hagrid,"

"The groundskeeper,"

"Really wants,"

"A dragon." This caused the Dragon Boys to stop their journey down the corridor. "Our little brother, Ron, said he's mentioned it a few times."

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Not only does he live in a wooden house, it's highly illegal to own a live dragon or an egg." Harry was horrified at the thought of a person who wasn't a trained dragon tamer even wishing for a dragon. The group finally arrived at a door, which was easily unlocked with a basic spell from Fred and George. "Does anyone else feel like this is too easy? I mean the door leading to a supposedly painful death was unlocked with a simple _Alohomora_."

"Well then chaps, there's nothing left but to open the door." Fred walked forward and pushed open the door and then promptly shut it again. "Bloody hell! That looked like a cerebrus!"

"No way, that's so cool!" Seamus eagerly approached the door. "I want to see it."

"Well we always did know he was crazy. This just proves it."

"Guys you've got to see this. It's standing on something." They all just looked at him incredulously. "Really, it's not like they would just keep a cerberus inside for no reason. They are famous for guarding things."

"He does have a point and he hasn't been eaten after standing there for the past couple of minutes." Neville as always provided the voice of reason. "So what would it be guarding?"

"Well we could always try to get information out of Hagrid. If anyone in the castle were to know about the cerberus, it would be him."

"Why George, that was very Slytherin of you. I never would have guessed that Gryffindors uncorrupted by Slytherin influence would be able to think of something like that."

"My dear Theodore, it was all we could do to not be put into Slytherin. We thought it would be a great laugh until we thought of the howler mum would have sent. You should talk to Hagrid tomorrow, he won't tell us anything."

Blaise didn't know what to think of Thevenet. He was surprised that the French boy knew Britain's politics so well, although that might be because of the Notts' influence. Theodore was another mystery. He usually talked more to Blaise, even if it was about his mysterious friends and Thevenet, Theodore really wasn't a fan of bigotry. Blaise was worried that his friendship might be passed over because someone had better connections for the House of Nott. It hurt because while he hesitated to call the boy a friend, he thought they were more than just potential political allies. Speaking of Nott and Thevenet they were coming around the corner.

"Really Harry, Blaise is a great guy. I doubt he would refuse to join an inter-house study group."

"That's not what I meant. Do you think he could be brought in on the project?"

"He could be useful. His family has connections across Europe."

"Are you sure it's not because you miss talking to the guy?"

"That's part of it. He really knows his stuff and is always up for something interesting, if that includes Gryffindors? Well you've seen our other housemates. Do you think many of them could have an interesting conversation?"

"If you think he would be willing to help and won't run away screaming from the twins I see no problem with it."

"Problem with what, Thevenet?'

"Ah, Blaise. I assume you've been listening to us for awhile now?" At the other boy's nod Harry continued, "Would you be interested in joining our inter-house study group? You would have to spend time with a few lions, but most of the time Seamus doesn't act like an idiot."

"Do you have any other houses involved? It would probably be for the best in case our house mates took issue with it. The upper years believe you will grow out of your friendship with the lions, but Malfoy has taken it personally that you two hang around with the Weasley twins, especially since his hair was dyed gold and red." Blaise gave them a knowing look.

"Do you have recommendations for people from other houses? Seamus and Neville want to invite their dorm mate, Dean, but that would be another Gryffindor."

"We should discuss inviting other people with the rest first, but if you want to join we meet in an unused classroom in the charms corridor." Theo looked hopeful at the thought of the other boy joining. Blaise was happy that the other boy missed their conversations too.

"I will join on one condition." He hurried to elaborate at the wary looks he received. "You have to tell me how you all met."

"We should move to a more comfortable spot, it's kind of a long story as Harry picked people up along the way."

Blaise acquiesced before leading the way to an unused classroom. When they had sat down he looked at them, waiting for them to start telling the story.

"It all started when we were five. I had just started muggle primary school at the village outside of the Irish Reserve when I met Seamus. Through some quirk of fate we found out the other one was a wizard. As the only two wizards at school we became close friends and practically brothers, I was basically adopted by his mother when she found out my parents were dead and I lived with my cousin on a dragon reserve. Over the summer break from primary, we met Theo. His family's summer home is nearby and he had accompanied a servant to the reserve to pick up some potions ingredients. We found him and managed to convince him to join us in a game of hide and seek. That's lead to everyone believing we had kidnapped him, which is ridiculous. We were only six at that point in time. Later in the year there was an accident, and a tamer died. At the funeral, we met Neville, the tamer who died had been a cousin of some sort. We have been basically inseparable ever since."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my friends Blaise. It was just, we were rarely ever alone, just the two of us and i didn't want any of the others to know. Most of them think Neville is a squib and look down on half-bloods, both Harry and Seamus are half-bloods. My parents also didn't want to let people know that they allowed me to wander away on a dragon reserve"

"If I didn't know better, I would say you were ashamed of us Theodore."

"Please, my parents were so excited when they found out you were sorted into Slytherin. They had worried you would be sorted into Gryffindor and they would have to explain why their son was a political advisor to lion. As it is they can blame my association with lions as a way to curry favor with the Thevenet family."

"That is another question I have. Why is the Thevenet family making alliances with British families? Is an international crisis about to occur that I should know about?"

"Harry isn't the heir to the main family, he's from a squib line and a British family, which is why he is being raised by a cousin. The House of Nott has always believed it is important to have allies outside of the country, especially as many of our business stretch across national boundaries. Plus it will be easier to take down Dumbledore with the help of allies that aren't afraid of him or worship him."

"Is that why you need an advisor Thevenet?"

"Yes, he hurt my family. I will not tolerate that."

"Could I have the details?"

"Not now Blaise. Maybe sometime in the future, but right now the less people involved the less likely Dumbledore will be to find out we are after him."

Albus Dumbledore was angry. The general public had finally found out that Harry Potter was not at Hogwarts like promised. Many were starting to ask questions and the Minister was being annoying. He just hoped that Remus would be able to help, he knew that the man still had contact with some Dark creatures. Hopefully they would have information on who had kidnapped poor Harry. The man should be arriving any moment now.

"Ah, Remus my boy. Do come in, do come in. Would you like a lemon drop?"

"No thank you Headmaster. Is there anything you can tell me?"

"As you read in the letter I sent you, Harry has gone missing. I was hoping you might help find him."

"How long has he been missing? Have you contacted the Aurors or Muggle police? What about the people he was staying with? Is there anyway I can help? How did you lose him? You're were supposed to keep him safe, that's why I didn't try to fight you when you sent him to the Dursleys!"

"Remus my boy calm down. Harry hasn't been gone too long. I've had Arabella watching over him. She said a strange man came to Privet Drive and then left not that long afterwards. She described him to me as relatively average in height, with dark brown hair. She has already started searching for both the man and Harry with muggle methods. I was hoping you could ask around in the less than wizard friendly areas? Or maybe using some of your more unique talents?"

"Over course Professor! Anything I can do to help! I could find this man's scent and then follow him, it's only been a few days so i should still be able to follow it."

"That would not be wise Remus. I have promised the Dursleys that there wouldn't be more wizards than absolutely necessary and in this trying time I would rather not upset them more than necessary."

"But Professor, this is Harry. It is extremely important that I find him, the cub is the only pack member I have left."

"I understand my boy and have already tried to trace the man's path, but he Disapparated not far from the house. The many instruments I have monitoring Harry say he still safe but my tracking charms do not work and Gringotts does not have any information."

Remus would have known something was up, even without knowing Harry had been taken away seven years earlier. Dumbledore was trying to hard to keep him from going to Private Drive. He was also doing his answering but not really thing, he never did say how long Harry had been missing. Remus would 'help', while in actuality collecting evidence to use against the man. Harry would have to be informed that Dumbledore could monitor his health, it might cause suspicion if he was injured at the same time Harry Potter was injured, especially with the eyes.

"I will start asking around, there is a pub where a lot of werewolves go. I will see what I can find."

Remus left the office already planning his next move. He figured he would have to go to Number 4 anyways, it would be easier to prove that Harry had been missing for years if he went. He would put out some feelers to keep up appearances, he didn't want to lose his place as one of those 'trusted' by Dumbledore. Keeping Harry safe was the most important thing. He couldn't wait until Dumbledore wasn't much of a threat and he could rip him a new one. Harry was his pack, cub really, no one hurt his pack, especially his cub!


	5. Chapter 5

**Gryffindor 1st Years Boys' Dorm**

Their dorm room was not the best place to have a private conversation considering the fact that they shared it with two other boys. Ron and Dean weren't too bad, Ron just wasn't keen about the fact that two of his roommates hung out with Slytherins. So when Seamus and Neville were discussing their new plans for a study group, it really shouldn't have been such a surprise that their roommates walked in.

"Hey guys. Do you have any idea how to do the potions essay?"

"Not really, but we were just about to head to a study group to discuss it if you would like to join us."

"Be forewarned that there will be Slytherins there." Neville wanted to make sure Dean wouldn't cause a scene. It wasn't likely, he was a muggleborn and so probably wouldn't have any existing bias against the House besides school rivalry, yet. "The Weasley Twins also help out if they have time."

"Jeez Neville, you're going to scare the guy away if you keep talking like that. Come on Dean it will be fine, Harry and Theo just picked up a new guy too." Seamus walked out of the dorm, dragging Dean, still talking, "It's great fun most times. The Twins usually give out prank advice if you ask. They claim it is their duty to teach the younger generations about pranking."

"Oh, um thanks for bringing me along?" A confused Dean stumbled out of the room, towed by Neville. "I guess?"

"You're all crazy, doing extra studying, with Slytherins!" muttered the redhead as he watched them leave.

The study group was always interesting. Fred and George liked to try their ideas out on the group of first years, but they were also highly intelligent. Seamus didn't know how he would have made it this far without them, sure the Dragon Boys knew quite a bit, but the twins included knowledge that wouldn't be taught for a few years. The addition of Dean into the group went flawlessly, Harry and Theo were okay with it because he was invited and Blaise wasn't into the blood purity so didn't care that he's a muggleborn. Fred and George were just excited to have another person to prank.

 **Hogwarts' Great Hall**

Hogwarts was under attack. Everyday something new happened; if it wasn't hair changing potions in the food, it was suits of armor being charmed to tap dance around the hallways. One day all of the chairs in the History of Magic classroom were transfigured into toilets, the next day the same thing happened in the Potions classroom but instead of toilets it was what the muggleborn students called a deck chair and a beach theme. It was unnerving to many of the staff and Snape was livid. McGonagall was tempted to blame it all in the Weasley Twins, but she knew it wasn't possible. They had solid alibis for many of the pranks. This didn't stop her from assigning detentions for the pranks she knew they did. This amused them to no end as the staff was still trying to figure out who had made the table in the staff room float every time someone approached it. This was all in the week leading up to Halloween, so the staff worried about what would happen on the actual day.

"Well then troops, you have done well in keeping the school entertained."

"We especially like the renovations to the Potions classroom."

"Very inspired."

"Today, just as the feast finishes, will be the grand finale to our demonstrations."

"We will give you the signal so you know when to set off your part."

"Be sure to keep a close watch firsties."

"Onwards!" And with that the twins walked into the Great Hall.

"Do you know which is which." Dean quietly asked Seamus. "I lost track half way through their speech."

"I think Fred started and George ended, but I am not sure." Seamus started walking into the Hall with Neville "Come on mate, we have to make sure our part goes perfectly."

Unfortunately the grand finale didn't happen as just as the twins were about to signal, Quirrell came running in screaming about trolls. Dumbledore tried to send the Houses back to their dormitories, fortunately for the Slytherins somebody figured out that troll was supposedly in the same place as their dormitories.

"As our _esteemed_ headmaster has apparently forgotten, our common room is in the dungeon, the same place as that troll, so we will be staying here."

"Well, at least someone around here has sense. Really, the safest place in Britain and a _troll_ managed to get in. I will probably get transfered as soon as I write home about this." Blaise was not the only one saying this.

"When my father hears of this, he'll..."

"Malfoy will you shut up about your father? We all know that you can't do anything without him." Harry had finally lost his patience with the arrogant boy. "Obviously your father can't do much about Dumbledore or otherwise we would have a different headmaster."

Draco puffed up with indignity, but before the argument could go any farther Professor Snape walked back into the Great Hall.

"Students, it is safe to go back to your common room. The troll has been neutralized. Fifty points to Slytherin for keeping a cool head in the face of danger. Come, I will be escorting you." At that the man turned and exited the hall.

The Gryffindor common room was buzzing with conversation. Apparently one of the first-year girls had been injured by the troll and had to spend the night in the hospital wing. Neville was just glad that he had managed to convince Seamus that hunting down the troll was not a good idea. Fortunately Dean had joined his side in the argument. He didn't know how his Gran would take the news about the troll, she was pretty upset about the cerberus in the school. He dreaded writing a letter telling her but figured it would be better if she didn't find out from other people.

 _Dear Gran,_

 _I am writing to let you know that a troll managed to get into the school. I am fine as well as my friends, but one of the first year girls in Gryffindor was injured. I thought I should let you know personally so you wouldn't worry when the information reaches you._

 _In other news, we have a started an inter-house study group for first years. It is mostly just Gryffindors and Slytherins, but a few Hufflepuffs have expressed interest in joining. It is overseen by Fred and George Weasley, although they may be pranksters they are still quite knowledgeable. I now have another friend in my dorm, Dean Thomas, he is a muggleborn who really likes that muggle game, football. I am also on friendly terms with Blaise Zabini, I believe you know his mother? They both seem pretty decent and not supportive of House biases. I hope you are well._

 _Best Wishes,_

 _Neville Longbottom._

 _Dear Mother and Father,_

 _I am doing well in my studies and am healthy. I am writing to inform you that a_ troll _somehow entered the castle. As far as I know, only one person was injured, but the_ esteemed _headmaster thought it best for the students to return to their common rooms. This was after it was loudly announced by the Defence Professor that it was in the dungeons. We stayed in the Great Hall until Professor Snape escorted us back to the Common Room once it was safe._

 _I have been cultivating alliances fairly well. Many people are fascinated with Harry even though they believe he is only a Thevenet. It has been a very useful tool. We are carefully dismantling Malfoy's network, not that it requires much work. My alliance with Blaise is fine and a new study group we are starting will help with people from other houses._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Theodore Nott._

 _Dear Mum,_

 _A troll was in the castle! Neville and our new friend Dean convinced me to just head straight to the common room. I felt bad for the Hufflepuffs, the troll was supposedly in the dungeons and they had to head back to their dorms. One of my housemates was injured, but she is okay now._

 _I am now a co-founder of a study group. So far it is only us, Dean, and a Slytherin named Blaise but Neville said some Puffs asked if they could come to get help with Potions. We have two third years helping out, they are also our pranking mentors._

 _Seamus._

 _Dear Tristan,_

 _Troll, in the dungeon. That was what Professor Quirrell screamed just before he fainted in the middle of the Halloween feast. The man is supposed to be the DADA teacher and he passes out because of a troll. Following the mass panic, Dumbledore told us to go to our common room, in the dungeons. Fortunately the prefects thought it would be better if we stayed put, we only left when Professor Snape came to escort us back. Apparently a student was injured, the four of us are fine. My faith in this school being the safest place in Britain is rapidly declining, cerberus and trolls next they will add a dragon._

 _My idea for a study group is going well, several people from other houses seem interested if only because they want help with Potions. Our prank masters help out when they have free time, they are quite intelligent._

 _I am well. Please tell Remus that we have been keeping the school alert with our pranks. Unfortunately our Grand Finale was interrupted. We plan to do it at a later time when it can be truly appreciated._

 _Best of Wishes to Everyone,_

 _Harry._

When news of the troll incident reached the parents, it was chaos. Dumbledore received many letters and howlers from irate parents. When the parents and guardians of the Dragon Boys received their letters they immediately wrote to each other to set up a meeting.

"Dumbledore has finally done it. We should be able to get him with this. Several people are angry about the troll. And a student got injured!"

"I must disagree with you Madame Longbottom. While many people are angered about the incident, It is not enough to get rid of him. The fact of the matter is we need both factions to be in tandem. The purebloods are upset because their heirs were in danger and Dumbledore tried to place them in more, they don't care that a student was injured because she is a muggleborn. The 'Light' side is unfortunately biased and doesn't really care that the Slytherin students were almost in danger, and are more focused on the one student that was injured."

"Nott is unfortunately correct. The two sides were never work together, even with this incident. We need something bigger and a suitable replacement, the Board of Governors are mostly in Malfoy's pocket."

"Ms. Finnegan is correct of course, it wouldn't do to have Dumbledore replaced with someone worse. We also have to consider that he holds positions outside of Hogwarts as well."

"I guess we must put this as just another strike against Dumbledore for when we finally make our move. Hopefully they will keep coming as the public is losing faith in him over Harry Potter not appearing."

Remus Lupin did not want to be at Privet Drive. He had been told how Harry had been treated here and he didn't quite trust himself to remain calm around the Dursleys, but it was necessary that he came here for the plan. Although Dumbledore said that it wouldn't be necessary for him to go, if he wanted to 'find' Harry he would have to go to the most recent place they knew Harry was to catch the scent. Plus having the memories of talking to the Dursleys would keep Dumbledore less suspicious when he confronted Dumbledore over Harry's 'disappearance.' It was vital to the plan that Dumbledore remain completely unaware of Remus' involvement.

Remus straighten his clothes- the best he had since he had met Petunia before- and walked up to the door. Petunia answered the door looking as if she had just smelled something rancid, and had her neck gotten even longer since the last he had seen her?

"Hello Mrs. Dursley. I am Remus Lupin, may I come in?"

She looked around nervously before quickly ushering him inside. "Get in quick. What if the neighbors see you?"

He just sighed before walking inside. "Madam I am here to ask about your nephew. He didn't come to school and we are very worried."

She paled before turning red. "I have had enough of you FREAKS! It's bad enough that one of you came to my home years ago and took the boy and left yelling about abuse, now you show up here and claim that you have no idea that you already have him!"

"So you're saying that you haven't seen Harry in years?"

"Yes, I am."

"Thank you ma'am. I will leave now and I am sorry to have disturbed you."

That was the easy part, the hard part would be not looking for Harry without looking like that was what he was doing.


	6. Chapter 6

The Third Floor Corridor

"Alright troops,"

"This is it,"

"The moment we've been waiting for."

"We are finally going to see what is,"

"Underneath that dog."

"We have been studying for weeks how to get by it,"

"We have confirmed all our research with your little Ravenclaw friends,"

"And it has all been leading upto this moment!"

"The six of us will go in."

"Don't forget the plan."

"Aye, Aye, Captains!" cheered the four first years.

Seamus couldn't believe it! They would finally get to do something with the dog, and find out what's under that door. This should be just as good as that time they went into the pens. Maybe the dog would like them too, then everyone would see that his ideas were actually good ones!

As they walked in the room, Fred and George sent some sleeping charms towards it, and then casted a few more, and then a few more. Apparently giant three headed dogs were resistant towards sleeping charms, who knew?

"Well, I guess it's onto plan B!" Seamus said cheerfully. He then pulled three pieces of steak out of his pocket. "Fortunately I came prepared."

"Seamus, we all agreed that if the charms didn't work we would leave and try something else later."

"Oh, stop worrying Theodore. This should work, what animal doesn't love food?"

"I like the way this firstie thinks."

"Continue with this plan of yours."

"See? Even the twins approve!"

"That doesn't really help your cause Seamus, but I'll help if only out of house solidarity."

"This is still a dumb idea. What if it eats him instead?" came the worried question from Theodore.

"Well we can't just let the Gryffindors go alone, Theo. They need some Slytherins to think things through."

While the two sensible people debated going through a trap door being guarded by a three headed dog, Seamus had already through thrown the meat into a corner away from the door and gone through.

"Well. What are the rest of you waiting for?" He shouted up, and then promptly disappeared from sight... under something.

This was bad. This was very bad. Nobody was supposed to go through the door yet! The traps hadn't been finished yet, Snape and Minerva still had to set their's up and he still had to place the Mirror of Erised. He had had to rework all of his plans because Harry Potter hadn't shown up at the school. And now Voldemort had gone through the door! No, wait. That wasn't right, Quirrell was still teaching his class and Voldemort was still with him. So who had gone through the door?

Whatever Theo had been expecting, it wasn't this. Devil's Snare, really? It's a plant that is taught within the first few months of the first year and really easy to get past. Neville was the first to identify it, the boy is a Herbology genius, but still not too difficult even with most of the group being first years. The flying keys had been difficult, but most of them had been flying for years, and Harry always had been the best flyer out of the four of them (there was a reason he usually played seeker). The empty room that looked like a troll cave had been weird, were they planning on putting an actual troll in the room, or had it used to hold the troll that escaped? This would need some further investigating. The cave room was the last room they could find, no amount of basic revealing spells or searching around the room turned up another exit, other than the one they came in.

"Is anybody else disappointed? I mean all that time spent researching how to get by the dog and the rest of the rooms are kind of easy, this one has nothing in it! I thought for sure there would be some kind of treasure."

"I agree with Seamus." Cue surprised looks. Theo never agreed with Seamus, on anything. "What? Not that it's disappointing, just that it was way too easy. I mean someone went through all that trouble to make traps and we managed to make it through with barely any effort. Sure we studied and might now a few extra things but we're still a bunch of first and third years!"

"Methinks, George, that the little snake is right."

"That despite our genius,"

"Anybody who had completed the first year curriculum could have done that."

"With exception of that dog."

"Definitely would need something a bit more than first year and a few extras for that one."

"I wonder if there are supposed to be more rooms. This place seems anticlimactic. All those other rooms seemed to have been leading up to something." Harry looked around thoughtfully, looking again for any more rooms.

"Well, whatever this place is… We can officially say that we were the first ones through it."

"Diggory will be excited. He can start collecting on that pool he has."

"I still can't believe that he bet against us."

"He probably thinks that we're too sane to risk certain death."

"But we brave the forest all the time!"

"Guys, plenty of people go into the forest. The only reason it's off limits is because they don't want people to disturb the centaurs." Theo, ruining their banter with logic, as always.

The reserve was in an uproar. Someone had stolen an egg from the Norwegian Reserve. That was bad news, people only steal dragon eggs if they're desperate for money or stupid. Donovan didn't know what to think. To him, dragons had always been the most amazing creatures in the world. He had become a tamer to be closer to them since he wasn't crazy enough to try to get one of his own. For somebody to steal an egg, at the risk of damaging it or the others in a nest, was one of the worst crimes he thought a wizard could commit. This is a sentiment shared by many on the Reserve, they had all gotten involved out of a love for dragons or just creatures in Baird, the Reserve's head of security, was unwillingly impressed by the thief. They had made it in and out undetected and without disturbing a nesting mother, quite a feat All of the Reserves were on alert and asked to keep an eye out for the missing egg. Not that it would help, the egg had probably already been sold on the black market or given to the person who hired the thief. The Irish Reserve wasn't too hopeful that they would find it; Britain had barely any demand for dragon eggs, other than Hagrid.

The Christmas Holidays were always interesting for the Dragon Boys. There really was no question of any of them staying at Hogwarts over the break. Theodore's family hosted a ball for the Dark Families and the darker neutral families, while the Longbottoms did the same for the more Light oriented Families. Seamus and his mother would usually stay at home and celebrate with their family. Tristan and Harry would go to France for the Thevenet celebration. The four boys usually spent Boxing Day with one of the four families so the boys could celebrate the holiday together. Last year had been at Seamus' place. Needless to say they would no longer follow any of his plans relating to the Reserve. One dragon experience was enough. This year the day was going to be spent in France.

Holidays spent in France were always interesting. The Thevenets did not have an active role in politics, but every of-age member of the family had at least two masteries and many were at the top of their fields and they would always debate and argue,over everything. The matriarch was such an intimidating women, being responsible for all of that, and the boys always treated her with a great deal of respect even when she was being laidback.

The three Dragon Boys not living in France flooed into the stately hall that existed only for that purpose.

"Bonjour! Come inside dear boys. 'Arrison is in the backyard."

"Merci, Lady Thevenet. You look as beautiful as ever."

"You are to kind Mr. Nott, but run along now. 'Arrison might blow up the yard again."

Now this was not fair to Harry, he rarely was the cause of the explosion. He just happened to be nearby when they happen, nevertheless the three boys raced outside to see a group of wizards and witches arguing over a box. It was an ordinary looking box, nothing about it seemed argument worthy in their minds, but none the less argue the adults did.

"C'est trop grand. They would go off much too low."

"Non! This is the perfect amount! It would cause a much bigger explosion."

"And kill us all when it happened. Imagine the headlines, 'Thevenet family wiped out by fireworks accident.'"

"Oh hush now Cherie, you worry too much about headlines and public image."

"Because I'm the only one that does!"

"Voyez! We have guests. 'Arrisson! You're friends are here!"

At that the eleven year old rushed across the yard waving his arms excitedly and yelling in mixture of English and French, "Oh super! Oncle is preparing les feux d'artifice. I tried to convince them to wait until you were here, Seamus, since you're good at making things blow up, but I don't think Grand-mere has quite forgiven you for the rose garden yet."

"That's ok Harry. How have your holidays been so far?"

"They've been great and about to be better. Venez maintenant! I've been doing research! Oh and Neville before you go, you should really talk to Brigitte, she's the one muttering about headlines, she is working on a new herbology project." By this point in time they had reached Harry's room. It was a covered in books and paper, with a small stack in the corner containing his homework. "Excuse the mess s'il vous plait. I've been to caught up in research and Christmas! Must not forget Christmas! Now where did I put them?"

As was tradition, each year the boys had gotten small gifts for the others. Neville usually received clippings from plants he didn't have, the boys often times wrote to various family members requesting the small bits of plant. Seamus always had an odd mix of gifts, his only hobbies were making things explode and coming up with crazy dares. This year he received a beginner's chemistry book, (Harry's defense was that Seamus should learn to blow things up safely), a box of prank items, and a pound of chocolate.

Theo shook his head muttered "Isn't he sugared up enough?"

"Hey! At least I didn't give him prank items. You do realize that he's probably going to use them against you, right?" At that Theo surrendered, Neville usually had sound logic.

One would think Theo would be relatively easy to get a present for, he likes books and learning things, but he comes from an old and wealthy pureblood family, so they had an extensive wizard library. The boys had joined forces years ago to gradually get him a complete set of encyclopedias, This year was D and E. Harry was easy to shop for, transfiguration is his closet passion. He would always get a new book from his friends on the subject, this year was The Circus Menagerie: the art of using animal transfigurations in well- timed pranks written by Requin Terre.

While the Dragon Boys were discussing Harry's research about the possibilities of the series of traps, Dumbledore was pacing his office. He had finally found out who had gone through the door, the Weasley twins, with their irritating collection of first years. The Longbottom boy was his alternative if he couldn't find Harry Potter, but instead of being worried about disappointing his family for being a squib, he comes to Hogwarts with a group of friends, one of whom is a Nott, a notoriously Dark family. Not only that, but the Slytherins were in an uproar over the French boy, Thevenet. Apparently he and the Malfoy boy have been verbally sparring all term, and the Malfoy was losing badly. No one was sure how to respond. the Malfoys were a powerful family in England but only minor globally, but the Thevenets were powerful globally if relatively minor in England. It also didn't help that the Malfoy heir had such an abrasive personality. Harrison Thevenet was another odd one. Dumbledore hadn't been aware of any English branches of the powerful French family, and his eyes looked so much like Lily's did, but what worried him most was that the Thevenets were gathering support here. The boy's friendship with the Longbottom heir was a tad disconcerting, but their friendships with the Nott boy concerned him the most; as previously mentioned, Dark family.

A.N. I got the idea of students making bets on who would get through the traps first from a couple of different stories, I cannot for the life of me remember any of their names but shout out to those people. And I have also realized that I haven't put up a disclaimer, for those of you secretly hoping I'm J.K. Rowling, I hate to disappoint but I don't have the honor, or skill. Oh, and the reason why Harry is throwing in French phrases now and not at school is because he just spent the last week in France speaking French.


	7. Chapter 7

Three days after classes had started back up, the Dragon Boys found themselves in an abandoned classroom facing a set of very serious twins.

"We have decided that you now know enough about the noble art of pranking to be worthy opponents in a prank war."

"We do have a few… guidelines in how this is going to work. An impartial and anonymous Ravenclaw has volunteered to judge each prank and award a certain number of points for style, creativity, and, since they're a Ravenclaw, also the use of obscure knowledge and spells."

"Of course, you get extra points if you get a member of the staff or a member of the other group."

"Make sure nobody dies."

"We begin next Monday and will end on the following Sunday."

"Other than that, everything else is fair game."

"Good luck!"

"May the best pranksters win!" With a flourish the twins left the room, leaving the four first years sitting in silence.

"We have a lot of planning to do., at least we can have the study group help out with research."

"Yeah but if Fred and George ask them about their research then they might be able to figure out what we're planning." Neville looked thoughtful for a moment. " We could get Blaise and Dean to help with our actual projects and use the others as decoys."

"Even better we could make it seem like we're going to use their ideas and information and then put a twist on it." Harry looked excited. "We could also use the study group to help sabotage Fred and George. They mentioned when we started the group that they would continue to help supervise the group after the prank war started!"

"Do you think it counts if we frame them for a prank they didn't do and get them in trouble?"

"Theodore, have I ever said how much I love your devious mind? This is going to be so much fun!"

"Calm down Seamus. Tomorrow morning we will meet in the usual place and begin the actual planning."

With that the four first years left the room and headed to their respective common room. A few minutes after they left, a pair of ginger twins left their hiding place and canceled the listening charms they had placed in the unused classroom.

"Methinks Forge, that the firsties will be challenging opponents."

Monday morning started with a bang and a few explosions for good measure. Seamus had decided that he would be in charge of all the pranks in the morning. Given his skill in causing things to explode harmlessly (Relatively harmlessly. Nobody had died yet) He had ordered an entire case of muggle fireworks and placed them around the castle. He had placed a motion tracking charm on them so they would go off when a person got close. He decided to have them placed outside the common rooms and to go off only one at time. Needless to say even those who tended to sleep late were up early.

Of course the twins had a response ready in time for breakfast when they activated a tongue twister potion they had placed in the food, the rhyme schemes getting faster and more complicated the more a person tried to say.

Hogwarts experienced a broken chair epidemic. Every time someone tried to sit down the chair would collapse only to repair itself when the person stood up. If someone tried to spell it to stay together the chair would start dancing around the room or go after the caster.

The hallways were being constantly redecorated. Classes had decorations for both muggle and wizard holidays strewn throughout. The potions corridor was Christmas themed and Snape had been jinxed to have a Santa hat that quickly came off. DADA was decorated for Halloween and had a little troll figurines chasing students. Quirrell quivered every time he saw them. Transfiguration had little easter bunnies running around leaving eggs that changed into candy that nobody dared eat.

The entrance to the Great Hall was jinxed to trip people in a pattern based on prime numbers. It was quite fun to watch people wait for someone else to enter and try to figure out the pattern, only to trip when they entered themselves.

This was just in the first three days. The teachers were worried about what would come next. Apparently a shower of **Sleakeazy's** , which caused the students and quite a few staff members to have straight hair all day, ruining more than a few hair-dos, and all of the ginger students to take on a bluish hue in addition. Then followed by whirlwinds of daisies that placed a flower in everyone's ear. Of course these were not the only pranks happening. Random students were only able to make animal noises for a day and there was even a period where Flitwick spent the entire class standing on his head.

The House Elves changed their loyalty throughout the prank war. Sometimes they would help deliver glitter bombs for the Dragon Boys or lace the food with benign potions. Other times they would use the twins' potions and place wizarding whoopie cushions around the castle. Whoever they weren't helping had to console themselves with the fact that at least the elves wouldn't sabotage them.

The mysterious Ravenclaw that was acting as the impartial judge had somehow set up a scoreboard next to the hourglasses showing house points. The board showed team names instead of actual names and updated constantly. Neither team had any idea who the person was and the twins were impressed by the board.

Saturday morning the whole school woke up with floating scores above their heads, it was later realized that being polite would increase the score but bullying decreased the score. This was Dean's recommendation, and it knocked the bullies down a peg.

Sunday came with miniature blizzards engulfing the Hufflepuffs, small tornadoes following the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws sitting in the eyes of hurricanes, and blistering heat waves in the wakes of the Slytherins. This was on top of a color scheme change. Students woke up to find their robes had changed to a different house, seemingly at random and half way between breakfast and lunch the professors' skin color changed to show the mascot and colors of their house's biggest rival.

To end the war almost at a tie, at dinner both parties managed to hit the other with a different variation of the tripping jinx. This managed to put the Dragon Boys only ten points behind the Weasley Twins, much to their displeasure.

"Well, dear Forge, They put up one hell of a fight."

"That they did Gred. We have trained them well."

"Hey! You didn't teach us all of that. The muggle stuff we already knew." Seamus was never one to pass up a chance to talk about his skill with explosives. "You even used a few things we told you about!"

"Boys, what is this arguing about? I would like to think I managed to give you fair scores for your pranks."

"No Professor. We aren't arguing over the scores. Seamus just thought that they hadn't given him enough credit in coming up with the ideas involving explosions." Neville turned to glare at Seamus and then noticed the look Theo was giving Professor Flitwick. "Hey Theo, why are you looking at the professor like that?"

"He said that he would like to think he gave us all had fair scores." He paused before continuing. "Does that mean you were the anonymous ravenclaw judging us sir?"

"Yes it does, and may I say, I thought you charm work was inspiring. I haven't seen some of those used in over fifty years!" With that Flitwick left the group to head to his office.

"You are right,"

"Dear Seamus,"

"We did use some of your ideas,"

"But we managed to do it with magic!"

"We will see you tomorrow little snake firsties"

When the twins had left the Dragon Boys said their good nights before heading back to their common rooms.

The study group was working well. All the students involved noticed their grades rising, even the Ravenclaws. Beyond Dean and Blaise nobody was particularly close to the Dragon Boys, but they still had a decent number of friends that they shared stories with. That was how they found out Hagrid had a dragon egg.

"We have to talk to him about it. It might be the missing egg!"

"It might, but it might not. I agree we should talk with him, but don't get your hopes up Harry." Ever the voice of reason, Theo wasn't too keen about being in close quarters with a man who thought keeping a dragon in a wooden house would be a good idea. "You should probably send a letter to the reserve. They would be interested to know."

"Maybe we could convince him to give it up? Do you think the reserve would let him visit it if he did?" Neville looked hopeful that there could be an easy solution. "If we convince him that it wouldn't be healthy for the dragon to stay here he would give it up, right?"

"Maybe, but he doesn't know any of us well enough and probably wouldn't trust Fred and ..."At this Theo sighed, "we have to at least try."

It was decided that Neville and Seamus would go talk to Hagrid, under the guise of wanting information about Neville's parents and Harry and Theo would write a letter to send to Donovan.

 _Dear Donovan,_

 _So good news, or maybe bad news. We believe that Hagrid has a dragon egg. We aren't sure of how to handle the situation. Neville and Seamus are getting more information as we write this, but we thought it best to inform you just in case._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Harry and Theo_

The two eleven year olds looked over their letter one last time before heading to the owlery.

"What do you think they'll do?"

"What can they do. At the moment we don't have proof, and even if we get it, what then?" Theo sighed before continuing, "Hogwarts is technically outside of Ministry control so having a dragon wouldn't be illegal. Although if someone could prove it was taken from a reserve then it would be harder fight a possession of stolen property charge, even Hogwarts has rules against that."

As Theo kept muttering legal jargon, Harry noticed Seamus running towards them.

"Guys! He has a Norwegian Ridgeback egg in pot over his fireplace. Not only does he have an egg, he's trying to _hatch it!_ ' Seamus stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "He said he got it from some cloaked guy at bar during a game of cards."

"Cause that isn't suspicious at all. Did he know anything else about the guy from the bar?"

"No, but he is looking for more information on dragons. If we play it right we could convince him to give up the egg and just visit it during breaks. Neville is currently building up Harry's reputation in case we need it."

Theo looked surprised. "Seamus, how Slytherin of you! I'm so proud all of those lessons in politicking actually payed off. I think that would be a good idea, maybe tomorrow if we don't have a response from the reserve. We're going to have to rewrite that letter now."

"Maybe we should wait for Neville to come back with his information? That way if he can introduce me to Hagrid, then we can include that as well?"

"We should add in a quick post script then. Maybe they have ideas to help us convince him to get rid of it faster?"

The reserve had been relatively peaceful for the last couple of days which was of course why a Hogwarts owl showed up at the window of Donovan's office. After he took the attached letter and read it, and then read through it again, he sighed.

"Those boys always seem to find trouble when it comes to dragons and I really can't blame Seamus for it this time." He shook his head and then yelled at the first person to walk past. "Marlene! We need to gather everyone for an emergency meeting. The egg has been located, it's with Hagrid."

"On it boss!"

Neville did manage to introduce Harry and Hagrid the next day, despite the man being wary of anyone wearing Slytherin colors. Harry even started his campaign to get Hagrid to voluntarily hand over the egg. Donovan had written back that Hagrid could visit when he had time, as long as he informed them ahead of time of course.

"Guys, I almost have him convinced. He should give it up sometime around the hatching, they can't really collect it until then anyways."

"That is a relief. I was getting worried we would have to deal with rampaging dragons as well as cerebri."

"Theo we would have been fine, remember the Welsh Green? Anyway did you hear that Roger Davies went through to beat our time and found extra rooms? He hunted down Fred and George to ask why they never mentioned them."

"Seamus, I would rather not have a repeat of the incident with the Welsh Green. Do you think we should try to go back through? See what's there? Maybe we can find out what it's guarding, because I highly doubt they're setting up an obstacle course."

"Well we can't do much with the dragon right now anyways, so I don't see why we can't investigate more." Neville quickly continued after seeing Theo's expression. "Of course we should consult with the twins first!"


	8. Chapter 8

Remus had a plan. He knew that Dumbledore would know that he had gone to the Dursley's not long after they had spoken, but if he did this right than he could finally have his justified explosion at Dumbledore. He would have to pretend that he had thrown himself into the search to manage his anger, but that was okay because after the last six years there were so many things to be angry about. He took a breath before saying the password to Dumbledore's office.

"Come in my boy! How has the search been going?"

Remus took a breath to prepare himself. As much as he was going to enjoy this, he was still about to yell at one of the most powerful wizards alive. That could be dangerous even if it was justified.

"Well Professor, I found some troubling information that took some time to work through." His voice started calm, but as he continued speaking, he projected more of his anger into his voice until he was practically shouting. "Why didn't you tell me he was taken over six years ago? This throws off all of my search plans, and the way she talked about him. Professor she called him a freak! And…"

"Calm down my boy, I know it's upsetting that he's gone. Please forgive an old man for not telling you sooner." There was the old grandfather facade, the one that had fooled him for years. "Have a lemon drop."

"No thank you Professor. Harry has been missing for years and you only tell me now? Why not sooner? Did you not want me to find out how they treated him? Did you know that those despicable people didn't even report him missing?" It felt so good to yell at Dumbledore and finally release all the pent up anger even if he had known that Harry was safe this whole time. "That the only reason they cared he was taken at all was because someone dared to call them abnormal for their treatment of a child? And he was taken six years ago! _Six years_ that I could have been looking for Harry and you wasted them. When did you even find out? The trail isn't just cold at this point, it's _nonexistent!_ "

"Sit down Remus. I have been looking for Harry these past years. Are you sure you wouldn't like a lemon drop?" After a brief pause that was ended by glare from Remus, Dumbledore continued. "I had assumed that Harry had been taken by the muggle authorities as the person I had watching the house said that the person was dressed in decent muggle clothes. This person and I have been going through muggle sources to find the boy since then. I thought that even if he did end up with different muggles that he would still come to Hogwarts and we could fix his situation. Alas that did not happen so I must assume he was taken by Voldemort's supporters. For what purpose I do not know but my instruments tell me he is still alive; they just can't tell me where he is. Now how did your search go after your visit to Private Drive?"

Remus stared at him incredulously, but took a breath and continued.

"I visited a couple of werewolf bars to see if anyone had heard anything of a

boy matching his description turning up anywhere. Nobody has heard anything, and I probably won't be able to go back for awhile because people became nervous when I started asking about a child that's Hogwarts age. I'll start looking in other countries, maybe he was taken to places with more lax laws? Maybe put out a few feelers among other Dark creature communities."

"Very well. Do keep me informed. And Remus please know that I am worried about Harry as well."

"May I leave now Headmaster?"

"Of course my boy."

Remus stalked out of the office and through the school making his way towards the gates. After Remus had left the school grounds he apparated to the entrance to the Nott estate where the other adults in their little conspiracy were waiting to hear about his meeting with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed as he watched Remus leave. He knew he had messed up but he had truly believed that he could find the boy. Unfortunately he had not and one of the few people he trusted to find Harry had turned against him for the moment. Remus would calm down with time. It was unfortunate that this meeting had to take place so close to the full moon, it meant that Remus' temper was shorter than normal, but time was of the essence and he had put off meeting with Remus for too long.

The Nott estate always had manicured lawns even in the beginning of spring. The grass was always green and trimmed just so. It was intimidating most of the time but right now, he just couldn't care.

As Remus approached the entrance - because the word 'door' wouldn't do it justice - it was opened by a house-elf who directed him to Jonathan Nott's study. "Master and Mistress bes waiting in the study with the other guests Mister Loopy. Dinner will be served after the discussion."

"Thank you. I will head directly there."Remus entered the room and looked around at its occupants."Elena, Augusta, you both look radiant as ever. Jonathan, Tristan, I hope you are both well? Is Nessa not joining us this evening?"

"No, she said something came up in the family. " Came the quick reply.

"Oh. Well shall we get to it then?" After glancing around to see that everyone agreed, he started. "Tristan, he said that he had had someone watching the house who saw you take Harry but that they only saw a person wearing decent muggle clothing. Then after I confronted him about Harry being taken six years ago, I was told it was assumed that muggle authorities had taken him. Apparently they planned to 'fix' his situation if he ended up with a different set of muggles if he couldn't be found before he was supposed to go to Hogwarts, I can only assume he meant to have Harry sent back to his "family." He now thinks that You-Know-Who's supporters have taken him for some nefarious purpose. The most troublesome thing I have learned is that he has instruments monitoring Harry, apparently they can currently monitor if he is alive but they can no longer tell him where Harry is. On a side note I think he laces his lemon drops with something. He was far too persistent in trying to get me to have one."

"That is concerning. Now we need to decide if Remus should later _apologize_ for his _outburst_ or if we should allow Dumbledore to believe Remus is conducting his own search. There are pros and cons for both paths. Either way we decide, you will still have to pretend to search."

"Jonathan is right. We will need to decide carefully. Eccentric as he may be, Dumbledore is no fool. We will need to plan this delicately, especially because we can't fight him politically without revealing all of our cards. Personally I believe Remus should attempt to stay in Dumbledore's good graces so we have a source of information, but only if you are upto it."

"If you think I can do it Augusta then I don't see why I can't do it. Tristan, you've been awfully quiet."

"Je m'excuse. I've just been trying to figure out why Dumbledore was so invested in Harry that he could monitor him at all times. Does it not seem off to anyone else? The party line of keeping him safe from Death Eaters doesn't make a lot of sense, a wizarding family should have been able to keep him safer than muggles, especially those muggles."

"We should research this further, but perhaps after dinner? The elves are starting to become quite agitated."

Norbert's hand-off went well, at least in Seamus's opinion. Having a dragon almost break out and rampage across school grounds would have been awesome, even if Norbert hadn't been full grown. Of course Dumbledore showing up to investigate why there was four smouldering first years standing by the gate with Hagrid was annoying, but by now he was used to adults showing up and ending the fun. Now how to get out of this situation without getting into trouble?

"Oh look! It's Booth." Seamus never was the best at distracting people. That was probably the reason none of friends bothered to look, joke's on them. "Hi Booth. How's it going? Does everyone at the reserve miss me?"

"I am well Finnegan and I believe that the entire reserve breathed a sigh of relief when you got on the train after the holidays. Younger Thevenet, your cousin should be here with the transport team, I just came ahead to check on the hatchling. Hello Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore. How are you?" Booth immediately started examining Norbert, ever the consummate professional.

"I am well my boy, but what are you doing here?"

Booth paused in his examination to look at Dumbledore. The four boys gathered off to the side watched intently, as far as they knew the Reserve was trying to keep the hand off low profile by telling as few people as possible.

"Oh, did you not get the letter? Hagrid arranged for the dragon hatchling he found to be cared for at the Irish Reserve. He contacted us with the help of these four boys and the management reached an agreement with him over the care of the dragon. I'm sorry I really can't tell you the details of the whole things. That's a management thing, I'm just here to make sure the hatchling is alright."

He resumed his examination of Norbert, occasionally writing something down.

"So, you four gentlemen contacted the Irish Reserve for Hagrid?"  
"It's all my fault professor! I knew I shouldn't have spoken to that shady man in the bar, but we was playing cards and he bet an actual dragon egg!" Hagrid started crying softly, or at least as softly as he could. "An' then I tol' him 'bout Fluffy 'cause he said he needed to know if I could han'le a dragon. 'M sorry Professor!"

Neville glanced cautiously at Hagrid to see if he would continue before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir we did contact the Reserve. Harry's cousin works for the Reserve and when we mentioned it to him, he said that the Scottish climate wouldn't be the best for Norbert but that the Reserve could set up a habitat and make sure that he will be okay. So we told Hagrid what we had learned and he became concerned for Norbert here, so we helped him arrange a hand off to the Reserve and they promised to send him updates as often as they can and let Hagrid visit. We didn't mean any harm sir. We were just trying to help him."

"An admirable goal Mr. Longbottom. Ten points each to your respective houses. Now I do believe that that would be the rest of the transport team? Mr. Thevenet I will allow you to see your cousin but I must request that you all return to the castle right after, we can't allow students to wander the grounds unsupervised, now can we?"

"Of course sir, thank you!" With that Harry ran back towards the dragon and the newly arrived transport team, babbling away in a mix of French and English. The other boys followed at a more sedate pace after muttering their own words of thanks.

The dragon tamers were gathered around the box containing Norbert. Booth was finishing his preliminary report, when he saw the rapidly approaching boys.

"Oh look! Here comes your little menace Tristan, with the rest of his band of dragons. Hey newbie you don't having anything combustible on you, do you? That one has a knack for blowing things up."  
"Leave the newbie alone Jo. We have enough to be concerned about, like making sure this little girl gets to the Reserve safely." Booth started rummaging around in his bag for a dragon sedative. "It's bad enough transporting hatchlings with their mothers let alone one by herself."


	9. Chapter 9

**A Previously Abandoned Classroom in Hogwarts**

The study group was always the perfect place to test new prank ideas. Nearly everyone who came was willing to at least troubleshoot the pranks if not test a few on themselves. Which was why when Professor McGonagall came into the classroom they had commandeered, they all rushed to hide the various notes and items.

"Dearest Professor."

"Oh, wise teacher of Transfiguration."

"What can we,"

"Help you with,"

"Today?"

She raised an eyebrow at the twins before turning to survey the rest of the room. There was some shuffling of feet, but many of the students were confused about why she was there.

"While I applaud all of you on your dedication to furthering your studies and I have noticed that all present have improved their grades. I have received a complaint about students being used to test dangerous prank ideas. Do any of you wish to say something to me before I begin my investigation?"

The students began to look around and whisper amongst themselves. No one there had complained about testing the pranks. Slowly they began to gather around the Dragon Boys and the Weasley Twins.

"Professor, it is true that we have been testing prank ideas on each other." Seeing her expression Harry quickly continued, "But I assure you, we always ask for permission and warn everyone else in the room first. Plus they aren't dangerous, we do all our research ahead of time and Madame Pomfrey said she was willing to answer any questions she could."

When he had finished, Harry gave a pleading look. He had no idea how she found out about the prank testing, as far as he knew almost everyone that came was willing to help. The ones who didn't want to participate said so and were warned what days they usually did tests on. They were very considerate about not testing their _ideas_ on unwilling subjects, when the prank was ready to be released on the school, well everyone was fair game by that point.

McGonagall pursed her lips before looking at each of the ringleaders in turn. They all stood quietly, hoping they wouldn't get into trouble.

"As I have only received one complaint on the matter, I shall let it go. I must warn you, however; that if I hear of another complaint, I will seize any prank items that I find. Are we understood?"

She nodded at the chorus of 'Yes, Professor's before turning to leave.

"I really do admire what you are doing here. I've always thought we needed more inter-house unity." With that she swept out of the room, leaving behind a very confused group of children.

The identity of the mysterious complainer troubled the study group for days. They discussed it whenever they had a free moment in between classes and frequently met with students they didn't have a class with to discuss it. Some just wanted to satisfy their curiosity, but others were out for revenge. It all came to a head three days after the incident, during the first years' History of Magic Class. As they sat discussing their next meeting, Hermione Granger turned around in her seat to glare at them.

"If you aren't going to pay attention to Professor Binns, the least you could do is be quiet for the rest of us."

"The rest of you? Miss Granger, if you haven't noticed, we are the only ones awake right now. If you are having trouble hearing Binns, you could always move closer to him. I'm sure he wouldn't notice if you brought your chair closer to the podium." Theo was trying his best not to snap at the girl. Unfortunately, this meant he was being polite, in a very patronizing manner, "We have already studied this year's course material and are planning out ways to cover everything that we didn't go over in class for our study group. My parents have mentioned that they ask about more than just Goblin Rebellions on the OWLs."

"Well. I think your study group just fools around, coming up with ways to prank the teachers. None of you have any respect for them." She huffed before continuing, "I don't know what lie you told to Professor McGonagall to get her to allow you to continue, but I know that you don't really study."

"We don't really study? Miss Granger, you probably aren't aware of this, but everyone who attends the study group has noticed an improvement in their grades. We not only proofread for each other but also do extra background research and if someone has difficulty understanding a topic we find an older student willing to tutor. Sometimes we hold extracurricular activities that involve competitions, lessons on the more practical applications of things we learned in class, and guest lectures from professors a few times a month. Yes, at times we do test pranks, but we make sure that we do all the theoretical research we possibly can ahead of time and if a prank involves inventing a new spell or potion, several of the teachers are quite willing to supervise as it is crafted or brewed and even help at times. We also make sure that no one has a new prank tested on them without their consent. If you had come to more than one meeting you would know all of this and while I understand you don't like our study habits that is no reason to go find the nearest teacher and complain about them." Theo paused to see if his lecture had made an impact.

"But you were breaking the rules!"

"Hermione, the rules don't mention testing pranks on people." Neville joined the conversation to try to calm his housemate down. "And if it was against the rules then the teachers who help us would have told us by now. We will move to the back of the classroom to make sure we don't disturb you further."

The four boys gathered their things and left Hermione sitting in the front of the classroom, alone.

 **The Same Previously Mentioned Abandoned Classroom**

"So if Diggory is correct, there are even more obstacles now than there were when we went through before Christmas break. Do we want to go through again and see if he's telling the truth? Or do we just leave it?"

"I think we should go through. Think of all the fun things we have learned since the first time around and the possibility of new challenges to face!" Seamus was getting a dangerous gleam in his eye. He always was the one to get excited about certain death "There all sorts of possibilities, dangerous items or creatures!"

"Seamus, you don't need to keep proving that you're a Gryffindor. We've known for a very long time. Besides, the first time we went through there wasn't anything dangerous. Any nitwit who had read through the first year curriculum could easily make it through those challenges."

"Yes, but think of what else could be there! Diggory and all the others who went in refused to share what they faced. The traps might change every time someone goes through!"

"Seamus," Theo felt he had to interrupt before this insanity could any farther. "Davies had to face the cerberus too. The challenges can't possibly change every time. That would be impractical and the expenditure of magic would be enormous."

"I have to agree with Theo on this. There might be more obstacles but chances are they don't change. They might add something every time someone goes through. It would be interesting to see if anything has changed."

"Harry, how can you say that? You're supposed to be my ally against the Gryffindors, House Loyalty and everything. It's madness to go back through the door!"

"But think of what we could be missing out on! Adventure, lost artifacts, or the chance for glory!"

"Neville, please help. Harry has gone mad."

"I'm sorry Theo, but I'm starting to agree with them. The possibilities…"

"It appears that I am the only sane one here. I can't let you do it on your own. You would probably do something even more stupid while on your adventure high. I'll go find Gred and Forge. Having more experienced backup could prove useful, especially since we don't know what has been added."

 **Dumbledore's Office**

Albus was really starting to regret the warning he gave at the beginning of the year. A great number of students had taken it as a challenge and decided to try and make their way past. This, of course, caused the alarms he had placed to go off which was rather annoying as he had to reset them. The teachers argued for more security measures around the stone, they didn't like that most of their contributions had to be relatively easy to beat. They had argued enough over the summer when he said he was bringing the stone to Hogwarts for the year. How could they not understand that it was for the greater good, Voldemort in his present state wouldn't even be dangerous, that is why he had set up wards to capture wraiths.

 **So its been a while, but Happy Holidays?**


End file.
